Arrest and detention

Every Stasi district headquarters had its own detention centre. The detention centre in Leipzig, Department XIV, was on Beethovenstrasse sharing the building with the Department of Investigation (Department IX). Detainees were hence at the mercy of the Stasi. The detention centre was used to guard people against whom the Stasi and not the police carried out investigations, i.e. political prisoners. People got arrested for example for attempting to escape from East Germany or for “political crimes” like “hostile agitation against the state”, which means criticising the regime.

Thanks to the Peaceful Revolution, all political prisoners were released in 1989. The now empty cells in the detention centre could not be preserved as a memorial, but were completely rebuilt. However, the “Runde Ecke” now contains a faithful reconstruction of a detention cell. All the fixtures from the door to the wash basin were taken from the former detention centre. In addition, photographs show the interior of the building and the yards. Those detained here by the Stasi were completely cut off from the outside world, and even their next of kin were left in the dark for a long time concerning the whereabouts of detainees.